The Sandbox

There is a military blog hosted by Doonesbury creator GB Trudeau. It is called “The Sandbox“.

It is a blog where members of the military serving in the middle east can post about their lives. There are entries by sages, poets, artists, photographers and other common folk that are serving in our citizen armed forces.
I read it from time to time, especially when I need to remind myself to “hate the war, not the soldier”. Most of the time my spirit is uplifted, sometimes it is not. It can get graphic from time to time. I would think it would be hard to describe an IED explosion or suicide boomer without being a little graphic. Be warned. More often than not there is beauty, love and of course honor in these posts.

Some soldiers that post are like the Doonesbury character B.D. and are happy and eager to serve. Others just want to get home without facing another extension of their tour of duty and without seeing another friend or innocent die. I always come away from this blog with an affirmation that no matter what has been said, I am better for having read it and for trying to understand and empathize.

Let the politicians and pundits wax authoritative on the two front conflict in the middle east, but for the real authority on what it is like, check out “The Sandbox”.